Should the Caribbean Be Wary of Chinese Goods? (China)

China is becoming the world's largest exporter and looking to increase exports to Caribbean nations beyond their $2 billion export total for 2004, but recent global controversies concerning the quality of Chinese products may hurt this effort. China's own General Administration of Quality Supervision reports that 19 percent of China-made goods in China's own domestic market were of substandard quality. Goods from China's small businesses were substandard in almost 30 percent of all instances in China's domestic marketplace. Chinese pharmaceuticals have been gaining a nefarious reputation across the world. Many first-world doctors now say Chinese pharmaceuticals soon may create a global health scare. U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)notes that "I think we have reached a point unfortunately where 'Made in China' is now a warning level in the United States." China's recent reform efforts in food and pharmaceuticals have attempted to address these quality and public-relations problems. China also is looking to become a primary export supplier for Caribbean nations and other nations in cases where countries are politically disgruntled with the United States. (Click here for more